A Grateful Heart

I was recently reading something about gratitude (but please don’t ask me what, because I can’t remember for the life of me), and it suggested the idea that gratitude is not just about giving vocal thanks, but that true gratitude is being content in the present.  Not using your energy to look back, not thinking ahead to the future, just having a peaceful heart with where you are in life at that very moment.

This new idea caught me by surprise, I had never thought of gratitude in this way before.  I often think of gratitude in the most simple sense, “thank you for…” or “I am so grateful for this…,” for example.  But I love the idea that gratitude exists inside of you at the very moment you choose to just be present.

While I definitely want to adopt this new perspective, I do have to admit that we are preparing for our New Year’s Eve countdown tonight, and I also can’t help but look back on this past year at all of our happy moments and adventures.  But with this in mind, instead of reflecting back on as many happy moments as I can possibly think of (which I don’t even have time for, because there are probably a trillion), I decided to just fill my heart with those moments when I experienced that quiet gratitude.

[ croissants in Nice ]   [ celebrating 10 ]   [ Côte d’Azur ]   [ discovering Greek food ]

[ slow travel in Puglia ]   [ Paris in the Fall ]   [ a Florentine welcome ]   [ in Monet’s Garden ]

[ finding Tuscany ]   [ snuggles with Chloe ]   [ wandering Paros ]    [ the best gelato ]

[ calling Florence home ]   [ sunny picnics along the Seine ]   [ Vespa ]   [ Sound of Music ]